FSU CB P.J. Williams arrested Friday morning for DUI

P.J. Williams, a projected first-round pick in the 2015 NFL draft, was arrested Friday morning for DUI.

Less than a month from the biggest night of his life to date, P.J. Williams was arrested for DUI. Williams was a star cornerback on the Florida State Seminoles football team which spent the last two regular seasons undefeated, winning one national title.

The 6’0″, 194 pound cornerback is currently projected to be drafted in the first-round of the 2015 NFL draft on April 30. But that looks like less of a reality now, after he was pulled over early in Friday morning in Tallahassee and charged with driving under the influence.

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NFL teams do not take kindly to prospects who are deemed as “character issues” players. Williams has no previous known record, but that is all in question now after his arrest.

Williams was a two-year starter for the Seminoles and defensive MVP of the BCS National Championship Game against Auburn played at the Rose Bowl in January 2014.

He ran an impressive 4.45 40-yard dash at the Florida State Pro Day earlier this week, while also leaping 41 inches in the broad jump and 11 feet, 3 inches in the vertical jump.

Those numbers, plus the tape, should have been enough to push Williams into the first-round of the draft based on team needs and his wonderful frame.

But the Leon County Jail cares little about his measureables or football-playing prowess. They care that he broke the law. And NFL teams will care about that not so little fact as well.

Most teams who are interested in him have likely already interviewed him at least once. No one knows how he did in individual team interviews, but his arrest likely causes them to question their character evaluation, especially if they deemed it a solid one.

If he was placed on a team’s draft board in the first-round prior to his arrest, that grade will likely fall now. For other teams it may drop him off the board entirely.

Few if any teams will keep their grade steady now. Hearing his name called on April 30 now looks like a certain impossibility. At best, he may hear his name called on day two of the draft, if at all.

That said, Williams is not the first, nor will he best the last, to make a mistake like this one prior to the NFL’s annual selection meeting.

There are worse people who have heard their name called at some point in the draft. While far from the ideal situation, Williams still has an NFL future. It just likely won’t include “first-round pick” in the description.

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